Top 30 visits tell us a lot about Packers’ draft strategy
As reports of NFL draft prospects taking official top 30 visits begin to come out, pay very close attention to who the Green Bay Packers are having in because, under GM Brian Gutekunst, there’s been a strong connection between who visits and who the Packers select.
Now, I know what you’re thinking. Of course, there is a strong connection between visits and draft picks. That’s why the Packers have them in—they are interested, to at least some degree.
And while, yes, that is true, the correlation between top 30 visits and eventual draft picks isn’t as strong with other NFL teams. Even with former Packers GM Ted Thompson, there wasn’t a ton that could be gleaned from top 30 visits and who he was going to select.
Last year, four of the Packers official 30 visits ended up as draft picks by Gutekunst, with three more eventually joining the team as either an undrafted rookie in Kadeem Telfort and Camren McDonald, or Ben Sims, who was claimed off waivers when released by Minnesota.
In 2022, six of the top 30 visits ended up as Gutekunst selections, with three more being signed as undrafted rookies. So, in the last two years, 16 of the 60 visits (or almost 27 percent) have been members of the Packers.
The 2021 offseason was the outlier for Gutekunst, where no top 30 visitors ended up being drafted. But in 2020, there were two. In 2019, three, and in 2018, there were again six.
These visits provide the team and the prospects with the opportunity to meet one-on-one with the general manager, coaching staff, and even scouts. The organization gets the chance to know each player a bit better. They’ll also go over film with them to learn about their thought and decision-making processes on the football field.
These visits also give teams a chance to address any red flags that may have popped up, go through medicals, and get an idea of how that player would fit within the locker room.
“I think any time you have a chance to sit down with players in your facility, (you) get to know them a little bit better,” said Gutekunst. “I just thought for me and how I wanted to go about it, yes, I wanted to have some face-to-face time with individually. I also think getting them with our coaching staff and seeing how they might fit in our room and our team locker room was important.”
Thompson would often bring in many late-round or even potential undrafted prospects for these visits, and while Gutekunst still does that as well, he has also prioritized meeting with prospects who are going to be selected in the top 100 as well.
The Packers currently hold 11 draft picks in total, which is tied for the most in the NFL, with five of those selections coming within the top 100.
With the first wave of free agency behind us, there are several positional needs that the Packers still have to address, including building out the safety and offensive line depth, finding a starting-caliber linebacker, and adding more competition to the running back room, among others.
Click here to stay up to date with all of the reported top 30 visits the Packers will have this draft cycle.
